Week 13’s Best Waiver Wire Picks to Get Now
USA TODAY Sports’ Jacob Kamenker breaks down Week 13’s best waiver wire additions.
USA TODAY Sports will provide timely updates on the NFL’s evolving playoff picture each week during the 2025 regular season. It typically starts on Sunday afternoon and continues through the rest of the week (Monday and Thursday games, or Saturday games if applicable). And I plan to watch it again after the holidays.
What the hell happened? What does that mean? As the seven-team brackets for each conference begin to take shape, what will be the relevant factors (and perhaps the tiebreakers)? Everything will be explained and analyzed leading up to the postseason berths being decided on Sunday, January 4th.
Here’s how week 13 went:
AFC playoff photos
1. New England Patriots (10-2), AFC East leader: Sunday’s close loss to the Bengals gave the Pats the league’s best record and moved them past Denver into first place in the conference. There’s a good chance they keep it going into their off week. remaining schedule: vs. Giants, BYE, vs. Bills, at Ravens, at Jets, vs. Dolphins
2. Denver Broncos (9-2), AFC West Leader: The Week 12 hiatus cost them the No. 1 spot in the conference, but the break was certainly welcome, especially for a team that needs to be near-fully charged for a grueling four-game series at the end of the regular season. remaining schedule: Commanders, Raiders, vs. Packers, vs. Jaguars, Chiefs, vs. Chargers.
3. Indianapolis Colts (8-3), first in the AFC South: They have dropped two of their last three games to fall behind the conference pace and are currently just one game ahead of Jacksonville and two games ahead of Houston in the division. The next two divisional matchups should be important. remaining schedule: vs. Texans, vs. Jaguars, vs. Seahawks, vs. 49ers, vs. Jaguars, vs. Texans
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5); AFC North Leader: Baltimore lost on Thanksgiving and is back in first place. A win against Buffalo on Sunday would help even more. remaining schedule: vs. Bills, at Ravens, vs. Dolphins, at Lions, at Browns, vs. Ravens
5. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4), Wild Card No. 1: They needed the rest last week…and the Buffalo loss moved the battered Bolts up in the standings. remaining schedule: vs. Raiders, vs. Eagles, at Chiefs, at Cowboys, vs. Texans, at Broncos
6. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-4), 2nd wild card: Wins over the Chiefs and Chargers could help when it comes to resolving tiebreakers. Despite defeating the Volts in Week 11, the Jags are close behind. That’s because LA has priority in the current three-way wild-card tiebreaker, as LA has a 6-2 record in AFC play. remaining schedule: Titans, Colts, Jets, Broncos, Colts, Titans
7. Buffalo Bills (7-4), Wild Card No. 3: QB Josh Allen took a hit. After losing to Houston last week, the Bills had similar hopes of beating the Patriots in the AFC East race. Currently at 4-3 in conference games, Buffalo sits behind the Chargers and Jags for the wild-card seed spot. remaining schedule: Steelers, vs. Bengals, Patriots, Browns, vs. Eagles, vs. Jets
8. Houston Texans (6-5), chasing: They have won four of five games, including three straight without injured quarterback CJ Stroud. The Texans will likely have to continue their surge and dominate the Colts if they want to win the AFC South for a third consecutive year…but the pieces are falling into place for a late charge to the top. remaining schedule: Colts, Chiefs, vs. Cardinals, vs. Raiders, Chargers, vs. Colts
9. Kansas City Chiefs (6-6), chasing: Not only is it almost certain they won’t win the AFC West for the first time since 2015, but there’s also a good chance they’ll miss the postseason for the first time since 2014 – Andy Reid’s second year in KC And don’t forget they’ve lost to the Broncos, Chargers, Bills, and Jags ahead of them. remaining schedule: vs. Texans, vs. Chargers, at Titans, vs. Broncos, at Raiders
10. Baltimore Ravens (6-6) in the hunt: Their sloppy performance against the Bengals cost them first place in the AFC North and an expected playoff spot. Unlike some other teams, the Ravens are also at a disadvantage in the head-to-head tiebreaker with Kansas City. remaining schedule: vs. Steelers, vs. Bengals, vs. Patriots, vs. Packers, vs. Steelers
NFC Playoffs Photos
1. Los Angeles Rams (9-2), NFC West Leader: Even though Philadelphia holds the direct tiebreaker, it doesn’t matter now that the Rams have a better record after losing to the Eagles in Week 12. Still, LA has little breathing room between itself and the Seahawks and 49ers in the division. remaining schedule: Panthers, Cardinals vs. Lions, Seahawks, Falcons vs. Cardinals
2. Chicago Bears (9-3), NFC North leader: With back-to-back wins against perennial opponents, they not only sit in second place in the conference, but are in danger of home-field advantage and a first-round bye. remaining schedule: Packers, Browns, Packers, 49ers, Lions
3. Philadelphia Eagles (8-4), NFC East leader: A second straight loss not only means more scrutiny, but it also means the team could fall to the Cowboys in the division if they’re not careful. remaining schedule: Chargers, vs. Raiders, Commanders, Bills, vs. Commanders
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5), NFC South leaders: The division lead against Carolina was (barely) restored on Monday night, but it may not be worth much if injured QB Baker Mayfield is severely limited on the field. remaining schedule: vs. Cardinals, vs. Saints, vs. Falcons, at Panthers, at Dolphins, vs. Panthers
5. Seattle Seahawks (8-3), Wild Card No. 1: All three of the Hawks’ losses have come against NFC opponents, two of which are in-district losses, which doesn’t help them much in the tiebreaker department. remaining schedule: vs. Vikings, at Falcons, vs. Colts, vs. Rams, at Panthers, at 49ers
6. Green Bay Packers (8-3-1), Wild Card No. 2: They only maintained their spot (so far) with a Thanksgiving win in Detroit, but a loss would have dropped them out of the field entirely. It’s certainly close for the Pack, but they’re still only half a game out of the NFC North lead. remaining schedule: vs. Bears, at Broncos, at Bears, vs. Ravens, at Vikings
7. San Francisco 49ers (8-4), third wild card: It wasn’t a great win on Monday night, but the Niners will take it to seal the conference’s final playoff spot. remaining schedule: Browns, BYE, vs. Titans, Colts, vs. Bears, vs. Seahawks
8. Detroit Lions (7-5), on the hunt: With the sweep by the Packers, Detroit, which had a chance to earn a wild-card spot if it won on Turkey Day, further solidifies its position off the field. remaining schedule: vs. Cowboys, vs. Rams, vs. Steelers, vs. Vikings, vs. Bears.
9. Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1), on the hunt: Three straight wins will further increase Big D’s playoff aspirations. Next week’s game in Detroit looms as a huge, potentially must-win game for the Cowboys and Lions. remaining schedule: Lions, Vikings, Chargers, Commanders, Giants
10. Carolina Panthers (6-6), on the hunt: The Panthers currently have just one win against a team above .500 (Green Bay) after Monday night’s loss at Silicon Valley. However, Carolina defeated the Cowboys, who were virtually tied. remaining schedule: vs. Rams, BYE, vs. Saints, vs. Buccaneers, vs. Seahawks, Buccaneers
NFL teams will be eliminated from playoff contention in 2025
▶ New York Giants
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